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Unit1CaringforOurEarthPassageAFrogStory蛙的故事Acoupleofoddthingshavehappenedlately.最近发生了几桩怪事儿。IhavealogcabininthosewoodsofNorthernWisconsin.Ibuiltitbyhandandalsoaddedagreenhousetothefrontofit.Itisajoytolivein.Infact,Iworkoutofmyhomedoingaudioproductionandenvironmentalwork.AsatoolofthattradeIhaveacomputerandastudio.我在北威斯康星州的树林中有一座小木屋。是我亲手搭建的，前面还有一间花房。住在里面相当惬意。实际上我是在户外做音频制作和环境方面的工作——作为干这一行的工具，我还装备了一间带电脑的工作室。Ialsohaveatreefrogthathastakenupresidenceinmystudio.还有一只树蛙也在我的工作室中住了下来。Howodd,Ithought,lastNovemberwhenIfirstnoticedhimsittingatopmysound-boardovermycomputer.Ifiguredthathe(andIsayhe,thoughIreallydon’thaveaclueifsheisaheorviceversa)wouldbemorecomfortableinthegreenhouse.SoIputhiminthegreenhouse.Backhecame.Andstayed.AfterawhileIgotquiteusedtothefactthatasIwouldcheckmymorningemailandonlinenews,hewouldbetherewithmesurveyingtheworld.去年十一月，我第一次惊讶地发现他（只是这样称呼罢了，事实上我并不知道该称“他”还是“她”）坐在电脑的音箱上。我把他放到花房里去，认为他待在那儿会更舒服一些。可他又跑回来待在原地。很快我就习惯了有他做伴，清晨我上网查收邮件和阅读新闻的时候，他也在一旁关注这个世界。Then,lastweek,ashewasclimbingaroundlookinglikeasmallgray/greenhuman,Istartedtowonderabouthim.可上周，我突然对这个爬上爬下的“小绿人或小灰人”产生了好奇心。So,thereIwas,workinginmystudioandmycomputerwashummingalong.IhadtostopwhenTreeFrogwentacrossmyview.Hestoppedandturnedaroundandjustsattherelookingatme.Well,Isatbackandlookedathim.ForfivemonthsnowhehadbeenridingtherewithmeandIwassuddenlyovertakenbyanurgetoknowwhyhewasthereandnotinthegreenhouse,whereIfiguredhe’dliveahappierfroglife.于是有一天，我正在工作室里干活，电脑嗡嗡作响。当树蛙从我面前爬过时，我不得不停止工作。他停下了并转过身来，坐在那儿看着我。好吧，我也干脆停下来望着他。五个月了，他一直这样陪着我。我突然有一股强烈的欲望想了解他：为什么他要待在这儿而不乐意待在花房里？我认为对树蛙来说，花房显然要舒适得多。“Whyareyouhere,”Ifoundmyselfaskinghim.“你为什么待在这儿？”我情不自禁地问他。AsIlookedathim,deadon,hiseyeslookeddirectlyatmeandIheardatone.Thetoneseemedtohitmerightinthecenterofmymind.Itsoundedverynearlylikethesameoneasmycomputer.InthattoneIcouldhearhim“say”tome,“BecauseIwantyoutounderstand.”Yo.Thatwasweird.“Understandwhat?”mymindjumpedin.Then,afteramomentoffeelingthiscommunication,IfeltIunderstoodwhyhewasthere.Icametounderstandthatfrogssimplywanttohearotherfrogsandtocommunicate.Possiblythetoneofmycomputersoundedtohimlikeothertreefrogs.我目不转睛地盯着他，他也直视着我。然后我听到一种叮咚声。这种声音似乎一下子就进入了我的大脑中枢，因为它和电脑里发出来的声音十分接近。在那个声音里我听到树蛙对我“说”：“因为我想让你明白”。唷，太不可思议了。“明白什么？”我脑海中突然跳出了这个问题。然后经过短暂的体验这种交流之后，我觉得我已经理解了树蛙待在这儿的原因。我开始理解树蛙只是想听到其他同类的叫声并与之交流。或许他误以为计算机发出的声音就是其他树蛙在呼唤他。Interesting.真是有趣。Ikeptworking.Iwasworkingonastoryaboutglobalclimatechangeandhadjustreceivedafaxfromafriend.Thefaxsaidthattheearthiswarmingat1.9degreeseachdecade.AtthatrateIknewthatthemapletreesthatIlovetotapeachspringforsyrupwouldnotsurviveformychildren.MybeautifulWisconsinwouldbecomeaprairiebythenextgeneration.我继续工作。我正在写一个关于全球气候变化的故事。有个朋友刚好发过来一份传真，说地球的温度正以每十年1.9度的速度上升。我知道，照这种速度下去，每年春天我都爱去提取树浆的这片枫林，到我孩子的那一代就将不复存在。我的故乡美丽的威斯康星州也会在下一代变成一片草原。AtthatmomentTreeFrogleapedacrossmyfootandsatonthefloorinfrontofmycomputer.Hethenreacheduphishandtohisleftearandcuppeditthere.Hesatbeforethecomputerandreacheduphisrighthandtohisotherear.Heturnedhisheadthiswayandthatlisteningtothattone.Veryfocused.Hethenbegantoturnaverysubtle,butbrilliantshadeofgreenandleapedfullforceontothecomputer.此刻，树蛙从我脚背跳过去站在电脑前的地板上。然后他伸出手来从后面拢起左耳凝神倾听，接着他又站在电脑前伸出右手拢起另一支耳朵。他这样转动着脑袋，聆听那个声音，非常专心致志。他的皮肤起了微妙的变化，呈现出一种亮丽的绿色，然后他就用尽全力跳到电脑上。AndthenIrememberedthestoryaboutthefrogsthatIhadheardlastyearonpublicradio.Itsaidfrogsweredyingaroundtheworld.Itsaidthatbecausefrogs’skinislikealungturnedinsideout,theirskinwasbeingaffectedbypollutionandglobalclimatechange.Itsaidthatfrogswerebeingfoundwhoseskinwaslikepaper.Alldriedup.Itsaidthatfrogsarean“indicatorspecies”.Thatfrogswilldiefirstbecauseofthesensitivity.我猛然想起去年在收音机里听到的一则关于青蛙的消息，说是全世界的青蛙正在死亡。消息说因为青蛙的皮肤就像是一个内里朝外的肺，所以正在受到污染和全球气候变化的影响。据说已经发现有些青蛙的皮肤已变得像纸一样干瘪。还说青蛙是一个“物种指示器”，由于对环境敏感，这个物种会先遭灭顶之灾。Then,Iunderstood.这时我明白了。Thefrogshaveamessageforusanditisthesamemessagethatsomesoberfolkshavehadforus.“Therearenomorechoices.”Wehavereachedthetimewhenwemustbetheadultsfortheplanet,forthesakeofthefuturegenerationsofhumansandforfrogs.青蛙向我们传递了一个信息。一些头脑清醒的人士也曾向我们传递过同样的信息，那就是“我们别无选择。”我们已经进入了关键时刻，为了人类的子孙后代，也为青蛙，我们必须对这个星球负起主人的责任。Becausewearerelated.因为我们休戚相关。ThenIunderstoodthattherearenoboundaries,thatthereisnomoretime.我还明白了我们之间没有界限，明白了时间的紧迫。Thatwe,forthesakeofourrelatives,mustactnow.为了我们的亲人，我们必须马上行动起来。AndthenIunderstood,notonlywhythefrogwasthere,but,alsowhyIamhere.于是我明白了这只青蛙此行的目的，也知道自己在这儿该做些什么。(736words)PassageBMissionZero归零使命RayC.Anderson(July28,1934-August8,2011)wasfounderandchairmanofInterface,Inc.,oneoftheworld’slargestmanufacturersofmodularcarpetforcommercialandresidentialapplications.Hewas“knowninenvironmentalcirclesforhisadvancedandprogressivestanceonindustrialecologyandsustainability.”雷?C?安德森（1934年7月28日—2011年8月8日）——是全球最大的商业和住宅用拼块式地毯制造商之一——英特飞有限公司的创始人和董事长。他因在“工业生态和可持续发展方面表现出的先进和发展的立场而闻名于环保界”。“Ifitexists,itmustbepossible”,assertsAmoryLovins1,co-founderandchiefscientistoftheRockyMountainInstitute2thinktank.Heistalkingaboutmycompany.Fellowindustrialists,Idaresay,thoughtmyambitionimpossibletorealizewhenfourteenyearsagoIdescribedmyaspirationsforInterfaceInc.toturnintowhatitactuallyisb